Ahrefs released a public dashboard that tracks how much referral traffic websites receive from Google Search versus ChatGPT, with monthly updates.
The first dataset covers three complete months across 44,421 sites connected to Ahrefs’ free Web Analytics tool.
The Early Numbers
For July, the dashboard reports Google at 41.9% of total web traffic across the cohort and ChatGPT at 0.19%.
Month over month, Google grew 1.4% and ChatGPT grew 5.3%.
The prior month showed the reverse pattern: Google +6.8% and ChatGPT +1.6%. These swings show growth rates can vary by month even as Google’s share remains far larger. Ahrefs Traffic Analysis
The dashboard states:
“ChatGPT is growing 3.8x faster than Google.”
It adds:
“With 5.3% monthly growth vs Google’s 1.4% in the latest month, AI-powered search continues to evolve rapidly.”
And:
“ChatGPT now drives measurable referral traffic to websites, representing a new channel that didn’t exist 2 years ago.”
How The Data Is Collected
To keep the time series comparable, the tracker includes only sites that appear in all months. As the page explains:
“Our analysis tracks sites that appear in all months, ensuring statistically significant and reliable growth metrics.”
The page also lists the last update timestamp and confirms monthly updates.
Important Caveats
The dashboard measures referral traffic that arrives with a referrer.
Some AI systems and in-app browsers add noreferrer or otherwise strip referrers, which can undercount AI-originating visits.
Ahrefs has documented this analytics blind spot when measuring AI assistants and Google’s AI Mode. Keep that limitation in mind when comparing “AI search” activity to traditional search.
Scope matters too. The cohort is limited to sites using Ahrefs Web Analytics. Earlier Ahrefs research across different samples found AI referrals around 0.17% of the average site’s traffic, which is directionally consistent with the 0.19% shown here.
Looking Ahead
Google still sends the overwhelming share of visits in this dataset, and that reality should anchor your priorities. At the same time, ChatGPT’s July growth suggests an emerging, measurable channel you can evaluate with real data.
Use the tracker to watch how both lines move over time and adjust your testing accordingly.
Featured Image: JRdes/Shutterstock